KATHMANDU, JULY 26

As many as 34 executive committee members of Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal have submitted their signatures in favour of the faction led by Upendra Yadav and Baburam Bhattarai, at the Election Commission, on Monday.

The EC on July 23 had asked members of the party's executive committee to appear before it with original copies of their citizenship certificates or voter identity cards, in a bid to ascertain which faction of the party holds majority in the party.

The Mahanta Thakur- Rajendra Mahato faction had moved the Supreme Court the same day demanding the EC's decision on the headcount be stayed. However, the apex court refused to issue an interim order against the EC.

Read more: Plea against EC move on headcount quashed

The feud between two JSP-N factions intensified with Thakur-Mahato faction's decision to support Oli's bid for prime ministership under Article 76 (5), and the Yadav-Bhattarai faction's decision to support Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba's bid for premiership under the same article.

The commission will announce its decision to accord an official status later in the day, at around 5 pm, after conducting adequate study and going through necessary verification process.